Little Hays Family Update

I have a few minutes while Brandon is sleeping and I am waiting to make a phone call, so I figured I'd post a little update.

Brandon is 2 weeks and 1 day old!!! He has lost his umbilical cord stump, and his plasti-bell circumcision thingy. So, he is free from all of the attachments from the hospital. We started tummy time to give him the opportunity to strengthen his neck muscles and hold his head up. He can hold his head up for a few seconds, but gets tired easily. At his WIC appointment the other day, he weighed 10 pounds 11 ounces, so he is gaining weight beautifully. We are still mostly breasfeeding, but I am just NOT having a good time with it, so we are gradually switching over to formula. We started the transition yesturday and will substitute one feeding a day with formula for a few days and gradually add another formula feeding until he is completely on formula. It makes me sad to stop, but I just can't do it anymore. It is very draining on me and causes me alot of anxiety which I am sure that he can pick up on. He has his 2 week check up on the 19 (even though he will be 3 weeks) and I will post an update after that appointment to share his weight and length and anything else that is neat.

As for me, I am hanging in there! I had a few rough days having some panic attacks which sucked. I think that it was mostly due to such a huge adjustment, plus my mom went back to the states. It is rough having a newborn. I wouldn't trade him for anything, but I can say that I am looking forward to him sleeping through the night!! I am quite attached to my sleep, and newborns make that virtually impossible. He doesn't get up too much though. Usually, it is every 4 hours or so, but last night after giving him his first formula bottle he slept for 8 hours straight!!! THEN, he woke up, got a diaper change, nursed a little, and went back to sleep for another three hours!! It was GREAT!!! Hopefully he will keep that up!! Brian and I were LOVING getting 8 hours of sleep. Although, for me the sleep was broken because I kept waking up to check on him. It was still nice to sleep for so long before having to get up and take care of him. Oh, AND...I am 10 pounds UNDER my pre-pregnancy weight!!! WOOHOO!!!! My pre-pregnancy jeans fit, and they actually fit better than before I was pregnant. That's awesome news!!! I was pleasantly suprised when I put them on for the first time today. I did a little happy dance and called Brian into the room to show him. Heh, it was great.

Brian is doing great too. He is absolutely the best dad EVER!!! He gets up everynight and changes Brandon's diaper and gives him to me to feed. He will take Brandon in the mornings and let me sleep for an extra hour or two. He will hold Brandon when he is fussy, and loves to play with him anytime of the day. I really couldn't ask for a better husband. It makes me so proud to be his wife and also so grateful to have such a wonderful husband and father for our son.

Emily and Kitters are adjusting. They are getting much less attention, but I know that will change once a real rountine is established with Brandon. Right now, we do everything on Brandon's time. They seem to be understanding for the most part, but every now and then will get really clingy. I try to make it a point to cuddle with them a little everyday. I'm sure that things will mellow out a bit in the next couple of weeks.

That's about it on the Hays homefront. We are hanging in there and taking in one day at a time. We are loving spending so much time with Brandon and watching him develop a little personality already. We can't wait to see him smile and hear him laugh. Oh what fun we have in store!!! Anyways, I better get to making that phone call and get myself to bed since I sleep when Brandon sleeps!! We love and miss you all!!!!